Beach Brains makes its New Zealand Fashion Week runway debut
Beach Brains has spent five years building the brand everywhere but on a runway—six collections through Paris showrooms, pop-ups and events in Sydney, a beach club takeover at last year’s Fashion Week. This year, the label takes the only dedicated menswear slot on the NZFW schedule for its first-ever runway show, a snapshot of current and future collections at once. Speaking exclusively with Remix, owners Dan Gosling and Jody Coggan explain why now, and who they’re really designing for.
What made now the right time to put the brand on a runway?
I don’t know if there’s ever a right time to present on the runway, and it wasn’t necessarily on our minds when we started. Beach Brains is now five years old, and we’ve spent that time creating a brand, working with the right team, and listening to our customers. In the last year or so, everything we’ve worked towards has culminated. Beach Brains has solidified its place in the market, and we’re confident in where this evolution has taken us. When we were presented with this opportunity, we felt the brand was ready.
As the only dedicated menswear show of the week, you’ve got the lane entirely to yourselves. Is that an advantage or does it come with its own pressure?
We don’t see Beach Brains as an exclusively menswear brand. We design it to be unisex, made to wear for anyone who resonates with what we create and feels good in our clothes, not confined by gender norms. Any runway show creates pressure, as it’s our first time showcasing the brand in this medium. We’re mostly excited to showcase Beach Brains to a wider community that may not have had the opportunity to see it this way.
Image via @beachbrains
What would you love the show to do for the menswear scene here? Inspire and showcase that our brand is humble, wearable, approachable, for everyone. The product can be worn across different occasions, from the city to the beach, which is part of the Beach Brains ethos. It’s humbling to know that, from NZ, we can create a brand with a vision and ethos that can grow and be in places all over the world, like London, NYC, Seoul, and Tokyo. We want people to connect with the brand’s energy and continue to grow with us.
For new readers and new faces in the crowd at your NZFW show, how would you describe the Beach Brains wearer—who are you designing for?
We design for those who appreciate fabrication, accessible cuts and silhouettes, multi-occasion wear, comfort, and confidence. We are not a peacock brand. We take a humble approach to contemporary ‘menswear’. NZ is diverse and rooted in culture, and Beach Brains, being an NZ brand, always has that in its DNA. We want people to feel a part of something when they’re in Beach Brains.
The show is a snapshot of both current and future collections. How do you make past, present, and next season feel like one coherent story on a runway?
This comes easily to us, as our approach with Beach Brains is to design each collection transseasonally for both hemispheres. Our colour palettes work across collections, transitioning smoothly, so that each collection can coexist with another. The fundamental pieces that underpin the brand are contemporary, classic silhouettes that will be in your wardrobe for years and work together. The goal is for these pieces to be coveted items in a vintage store in 30 years.
Image via @beachbrains
What have your international showcases in Paris and Sydney taught you about the brand? And about how a New Zealand menswear label lands offshore?
We have been showcasing Beach Brains at Paris Fashion Week for three years now, which is six collections. We’ve been consistent in showing up each season, talking to buyers, building strong relationships, and taking on board what we hear from our retail partners. All of these conversations have been instrumental in our success. People love us Kiwis, so it’s easy for us to keep growing and building these relationships.
Is there a tension between growing internationally and keeping the brand’s identity rooted here?
Both of us were born and raised here. There’s no way we could create something whose identity and soul aren’t rooted in NZ, just as we are. We grew up surfing and skating here. Those things stay with you. There can’t be tension between growing internationally and keeping the brand rooted here, because that’s who we are.
Advertisement
